What is the difference between sickle cell and leukemia?

Sickle cell disease is the genetic production of an altered hemoglobin capable of causing an otherwise normal red cell to deform when in a low oxygen environment. read more

Sickle cell disease is the genetic production of an altered hemoglobin capable of causing an otherwise normal red cell to deform when in a low oxygen environment. Leukemia is the overproduction of one of the white blood cell lines in the bone marrow, crowding out the needed production of other cells. read more

In some cases, the red blood cells are seriously reduced in number or are deficient in hemoglobin. This condition is known as anemia, or, more correctly, the anemias. Because of the hemoglobin deficiency, a reduced amount of oxygen reaches the tissues, and the cells cannot function normally. read more

Lastly, the red blood cells will also decrease, thus the patient with leukemia may have anemia at the same time. Even though there is an increased count of white blood cells, these white blood cells are immature and dysfunctional. read more

The most common symptom of anemia is blood loss while other causes include: destruction of red blood cells, impaired red blood cell production, and fluid overload. For leukemia, there is no single, definitive cause. read more